ADULT LEARNING

Adult Learning Theory-Andragogy

Andragogy
✔ Term used by Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (1913 – 1997)
✔ synonymous to adult education
✔ the art and science of adult learning

Pedagogy
✔ Child learning
 Knowles’ 5 Assumptions Of Adult Learners

Self-Concept
► As a person matures his/her self concept moves from one of being a dependent
personality toward one of being a self-directed human being.
Adult Learner Experience
► As a person matures he/she accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that
becomes an increasing resource for learning.
Readiness to Learn
► As a person matures his/her readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to
the developmental tasks of his/her social roles
Orientation to Learning
► As a person matures his/her time perspective changes from one of postponed
application of knowledge to immediacy of application. As a result his/her
orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject- centeredness to one of
problem centeredness.
Motivation to Learn
► As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal
 Adult Learning
vs
Childhood Learning
 Childhood Learning Adult Learning
✔ Rote memory ✔ Conceptual
✔ Repetition ✔ Contextual
✔ Testing as feedback ✔ Continuous
✔ Gathering building ✔ Horizontal and
blocks integrated
✔ Vertical and additive

pedagogy andragogy
Comparison of Pedagogy to Andragogy
ASSUMPTIONS PEDAGOGY ANDRAGOGY
Learn what the teacher Need to know why they
NEED TO KNOW
wants them to learn need to learn something.
Perception of being
Feel responsible for
SELF CONCEPT dependent on the
their own learning.
teacher for learning
The teacher’s
Adults learn from each
ROLE OF EXPERIENCE experience, not the
other’s experience.
children’s is what counts.
Must be ready when the
Ready to learn when they
READINESS TO LEARN teacher says they must or
feel the need to know.
they will not be promoted.
ORIENTATION TO Subject-centered Life-centered or
LEARNING orientation. task-centered orientation
Primarily internally
MOTIVATION Externally motivated motivated, with
some external
motivation.
 Learning Propositions
✔ Based from Book of Andragogy
Authors:
□Watson
□Knowles
□Holton
□Swanson
 Learning Propositions

1. “Behaviors which are rewarded

(reinforced) are most likely to
occur.” -Watson
 Learning Propositions

2. “Sheer repetition without

indications of improvement or any
kind of reinforcement is a poor
way
to attempt to learn” –Watson
 Learning Propositions
3. “Threat and punishment have
variable and uncertain effects
upon
learning; they may make the
punished response more likely or
less likely to recur; they may set up
avoidance tendencies which
prevent further learning.” –
Learning Propositions
Watson
 Learning Propositions
3. “Threat and punishment have
variable and uncertain effects
upon
learning; they may make the
punished response more likely or
less likely to recur; they may set up
avoidance tendencies which
prevent further learning.” –
Learning Propositions
Watson
 Learning Propositions

4. “Reward (reinforcement) to be
most effective in learning, must
follow almost immediately after
the desired behavior and be clearly
connected with that behavior in
the mind of the learner.” – Watson
 Learning Propositions
5. “Learners progress in any area of learning
only as far as they need to in order to
achieve their purpose. Often they do only
well enough to ‘get by’; with increased
motivation they improve.” – Watson
“ Adults are motivated to learn to the
extent that they perceive that learning will
help them perform tasks or deal with
problems that they confront in their life
situations.”
Learning Propositions
–Knolwes, Holton, Swannon
 Learning Propositions

6. “Forgetting proceeds rapidly at

first- then more and more
slowly;
recall shortly after learning
reduces the amount forgotten.”
Watson
 Learning Propositions
7. “Learning from reading is
facilitated more by time
spent
recalling what has been read than
by rereading.” –Watson
 Learning Propositions

8. “The best way to help pupils from a general

concept is to present the concept in
numerous ways and varied situations,
contrasting experiences with and without
the concept, then to encourage precise
formulations of the general idea in its
application in situations different from those
in which the concept was learned.” –Watson
 Learning Propositions
9. “When children and adult experience too
much frustration, their behavior ceases to
be integrated, purposeful and rational.
Blindly they act out of their rage,
discouragement or withdrawal. The
threshold of what is ‘too much’ varies; it is
lowered by previous failures.” –Watson
 Learning Propositions
10. “No school subjects are markedly superior
to others for ‘strengthening mental
powers.’ General improvement as a result
of study in any subject depends on
instruction designed to build up
generalizations about principles, concept
formation and improvements of techniques
of study, thinking and communication.” –
Watson
 Learning Propositions

11. “What is learned is most likely to

be available for use if it is learned
in a situation much like that in
which is to be used immediately
preceding the time when it is
needed.” –Watson
 Learning Propositions
12. “Children (and adults even more)
remember new information which
confirms their previous attitudes
better than they remember new
information which runs counter to
their previous attitudes. –Watson
 Learning Propositions
13. “Adults need to know why they need to
learn something before undertaking to learn
it. “ –Knowles, Holton and Swanson